Western Front - 2004 November 30

              ISSUE 20
Volume 131
FAR RUNNING
Western student runs for a
cause in Seattle Marathon.
Features, Page 10
GIVE AND TAKE
Wealthy philanthropists are getting
what they pay for from charities.
Opinions, Page 18
HIGH FLYING
Western forward Tyler
Amaya starts fresh.
Sports, Page 14
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington —— The Western Front Tuesday
Nov. 30, 2004
Western sends care packages to troops in Iraq
By Nick Schmidt
The Western Front
Twelve Western staff members began
sending care packages to troops in Iraq
approximately 12 years ago and they
continue the tradition today.
The group, which sends packages roughly
once a month, is awaiting official university
approval from the provost's office to be able
to collect items on university property for
the packages, said Bernadette Davidson,
the program coordinator for the chemistry
department.
The group is part of a national organization
known as Operation Interdependence,
which is designed to alleviate the strain on
the military mail system by centralizing
donations by civilian groups.
The group needs approval from the
provost's office because it uses university e-mail
and phone systems to communicate.
"It was my idea to get involved and just
do something," said Davidson, whose son is
stationed in Iraq along the Syrian border.
Davidson said each group in the
organization is responsible for a platoon, a
group of 16 to 50 soldiers.
While they cannot be told exactly which
platoon they are supplying because of
SEE Packages, PAGE 6
Bookstores prepare for
buyback business rush
Matt DeVeau/The Western Front
The College Store manager Liz Plesha helps Whatcom Community Col­lege
student Jay Witte sell back his books Monday. Plesha said the
store's official buyback promotion begins next Monday.
By Lauren Hardin
The Western Front
As finals week approaches and the rush to
sell back textbooks draws near, local stores are
bracing for the influx of college students looking
to make money on their used books.
From Dec. 1 to Dec. 11, the two stores are
offering to pay up to 50 percent of the price that
students initially paid for their books.
"Honestly, I plan on using the money I
get back from my. books to buy clothes and
Christmas gifts,'' Western junior Jessica Hedges
said as she picked through the displays at the AS
Bookstore Monday.
Cashiers consider three factors for the AS
Bookstore to offer the buyback price: the number
of copies needed, the condition the textbooks
are in and the orders instructors have placed.
The AS Bookstore will buy back textbooks
in varying conditions, textbook department
manager Robert Perks said.
"We will generally buy back most textbooks
unless they are terribly damaged or are water
damaged," Perks said. "It doesn't matter for
the most part, even if they have highlighter or
pencil marks in them."
. The College Store follows the same general
guidelines for its buybacks as well, College
Store assistant manager Zeke Spier said.
When both stores have purchased as many
copies of the books as they need, students are
offered a wholesale price, Spier said.
"We make a concerted effort to find the best
wholesale company so that students can get the
best deal even if it isn't the highest buyback
price," Spier said.
If a store offers students a wholesale price,
they may sell back their textbooks during a
future buyback when they might receive the
higher in-store prices, AS Bookstore general
manager Lara Mann said.
Used-book companies • set wholesale prices,
which are generally 10 percent to 30 percent of
the new price of a textbook, Mann said.
"The best thing a student could do is contact
their professors to see if they will be using that
textbook at a later date," Mann said. "If they are,
students could wait to sell back their textbook at
a time when we would offer the in-store buyback
prices."
Students should sell their textbooks back as
soon as they are done with finals rather than
waiting until the end of finals week, Mann said.
"The best time to come in is during dead week
when the lines are smaller and we are still able
to offer the higher prices," Perks said. "Once we
get into finals week, the lines will be wrapped
around the store, and we may only be able to
offer wholesale prices."
For students to avoid the long lines and get the
best price, The College Store recommends that
students begin coming in as early as Wednesday,
Spier said.
SEE Books, PAGE 7
More funding available for
student-chosen speakers
By Timory Wilson
The Western Front
Additional funding is available to bring
a larger number of speakers to Western,
giving students, faculty and staff the
opportunity to submit proposals on which
speakers they would like.
The Cold Beverage Contract Student
Committee, which allocates funding to
different programs on campus, formed a
new subcommittee composed of students,
faculty and staff who will review the
proposals and give recommendations on
which speakers the committee should
fund, Associated Students President
Rachel Zommick said.
"The committee will fund lectures that
stimulate campus interest and discussion
across a broad range of disciplines," said
Linda Beckman, the director of budget
and administration for student affairs.
Kurt Willis, the associate director
of University Residence Business and
Information Systems, said the funding that
the Cold Beverage Committee provides
for speakers is from an exclusive contract
Western has with Walton Beverage, the
licensed distributor of Pepsi products on
campus.
Walton Beverage gives $3 to $5
rebates to Western for every case of Pepsi
beverages purchased, and it gives 50
cents of every dollar at vending machines
SEE Speakers, PAGE 4
Western employees can donate
fraction of paychecks to charity
By Kara Lundberg
The Western Front
For the 20th consecutive
year Western faculty and staff
members are donating to local
charities through the Combined
Fund Drive.
One-hundred and eighty-eight
faculty and staff members have
chosen to make a contribution to
several of the hundreds of charities
included in the campus program,
Western's administrative services
manager Lynn Bell said.
She said the fund makes it
easier for employees and public
Photo courtesy of the Combined Fund Drive Web site
SEE Donations, PAGE 7 Combined Fund Drive participants from Whatcom
county gather at a potluck.
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